The Perry campaign, for the record, claims the sign had been painted over in the early 1980s soon after Perry’s father, Ray, leased the rights to the property. The Post story, however, included various eyewitness accounts of the rock with the offensive name having been visible in recent years.

Cain said on Fox News Sunday, “For [Perry] to leave it there as long as he did, until before, I hear, they finally painted over it, is just plain insensitive to a lot of black people in this country.”

What say the rest of the Republican field? So far, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and the others have been silent on the story. Now they fall all over themselves trying to be first when it comes to taking shots at President Obama, and often, cheap ones at that.

Why are they averting their gaze from this story? Is Herman Cain the only Republican candidate to find the use of the sign insensitive and the word offensive? Certainly that rock says a lot about Rick Perry. Not hearing a peep from the other GOP presidential candidates, except Herman Cain, says a lot about them, too. And it’s not good.

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